Results 1 to 10 of 10

Weird keyboard, are these key contacts gold?

| E-Waste Grading and Identification
  1. #1
    DSAP started this thread.
    SMF Badges of Honor


    Member since
    Mar 2014
    Location
    Pcola, Fl
    Posts
    16
    Thanks
    2
    Thanked 5 Times in 2 Posts

    Weird keyboard, are these key contacts gold?

    I bought a broke down Mustang awhile back, and the owner gave me a bunch of old computer cables and stuff with it, including this keyboard. It was an older all rubber type, so I ran a knife down it and peeled the rubber off to find this inside. It didnt have any mylar sheets or anything inside, just a rubber outer shell/buttons and this.










  2. #2
    armygreywolf's Avatar
    SMF Badges of Honor



    Member since
    Dec 2013
    Location
    Germantown, WI
    Posts
    1,084
    Thanks
    193
    Thanked 2,065 Times in 650 Posts
    That thar be gold you're lookin' at. (Yep it's gold.)

    A little lesson on why it's gold. Unlike the other available highly conductive materials, (copper, aluminum, silver and a few others) gold is does not oxidize therefore it's perfect for this type of keyboard (they call it soft touch keys) Every soft touch keyboard, phone, calculator, device will have a gold flashed board that is keyboards without mylars...Although it's not going to be valuable like a cell phone board or finger card....still a buck or so a pound.
    Last edited by armygreywolf; 05-01-2014 at 11:38 PM.

  3. The Following 5 Users say Thank You for This Post by armygreywolf:


  4. #3
    DSAP started this thread.
    SMF Badges of Honor


    Member since
    Mar 2014
    Location
    Pcola, Fl
    Posts
    16
    Thanks
    2
    Thanked 5 Times in 2 Posts
    So it's not worth as much as a finger card? Would I be best cutting this up, selling it as a "computer board" or what would it be?

  5. #4
    Sirscrapalot's Avatar
    SMF Badges of Honor


    Member since
    Mar 2012
    Location
    A sandbar off the atlantic..OBX,NC
    Posts
    6,123
    Thanks
    11,885
    Thanked 8,783 Times in 3,854 Posts
    You need an OMG IT"S GOLD™ bucket...I'll even sign it if you act now.

    If it was me, I'd toss it in my bucket(The original of the above..)an save it for a special shipment to my buyer or to be toll refined once I had a good amount worthy of such. That's just me tho..YMMV.

    Edit: I had a another couple thoughts..(Scary I know...owooo) You could get a nice collection and sell them via Ebay or wherever to home refiners. An..Nice board! Love seeing gold like that, heck I like any gold.

    An seriously..get a bucket for gold boards like that. You could also check with your buyer to see if they'd pay more for it. Neva know!

    Sirscrapalot - Getcha OMG IT"S GOLD™ 2014 bucket while they last! (dealends12312014,nopurchasenecessaryanifyoureadal lthisimsorry)

  6. The Following 2 Users say Thank You for This Post by Sirscrapalot:


  7. #5
    Immulmen's Avatar
    SMF Badges of Honor

    Member since
    Dec 2011
    Location
    Windham Maine
    Posts
    284
    Thanks
    13
    Thanked 272 Times in 117 Posts
    Quote Originally Posted by armygreywolf View Post
    That thar be gold you're lookin' at. (Yep it's gold.)

    A little lesson on why it's gold. Unlike the other available highly conductive materials, (copper, aluminum, silver and a few others) gold is does not oxidize therefore it's perfect for this type of keyboard (they call it soft touch keys) Every soft touch keyboard, phone, calculator, device will have a gold flashed board that is keyboards without mylars...Although it's not going to be valuable like a cell phone board or finger card....still a buck or so a pound.
    Not every one will be gold plated.
    I repair business phones and some are like this but others will have a black [carbon?] coating. The same model phone can have ether type. Some old Comdial phones have a keyboard that does not have any green coating on the tracings and all the tracings are gold plated, front and back. The tracings are thin and the gold plating is not very thick so in reality there is not as much gold as it appears.
    Chris

  8. The Following 2 Users say Thank You for This Post by Immulmen:


  9. #6
    DSAP started this thread.
    SMF Badges of Honor


    Member since
    Mar 2014
    Location
    Pcola, Fl
    Posts
    16
    Thanks
    2
    Thanked 5 Times in 2 Posts
    Quote Originally Posted by Sirscrapalot View Post
    You need an OMG IT"S GOLD™ bucket...I'll even sign it if you act now.

    If it was me, I'd toss it in my bucket(The original of the above..)an save it for a special shipment to my buyer or to be toll refined once I had a good amount worthy of such. That's just me tho..YMMV.

    Edit: I had a another couple thoughts..(Scary I know...owooo) You could get a nice collection and sell them via Ebay or wherever to home refiners. An..Nice board! Love seeing gold like that, heck I like any gold.

    An seriously..get a bucket for gold boards like that. You could also check with your buyer to see if they'd pay more for it. Neva know!

    Sirscrapalot - Getcha OMG IT"S GOLD™ 2014 bucket while they last! (dealends12312014,nopurchasenecessaryanifyoureadal lthisimsorry)
    I do not have a regular buyer yet, havent sold any e scrap, have only taken apart a couple of desk top towers, a couple keyboards and stuff like that. Still trying to gather as much info as the best routes to go with things, it's overwhelming. Once I get it figured out, Im gonna start trying to get my hands on more of it. I have been taking apart car radios and that kind of stuff now, since some of the stuff in the Mustangs I part out doesnt work anyway, or even better, if I dont if it works.....it gets the axe now instead of shred.

    One of the local yards that pays the lowest on pretty much everything (normal scrap) actually buys e scrap (whereas the higher paying yard in town doesnt buy it, go figure), they told me 2.25 on high grade board, 1.45 on mid grade and .11 on low grade a couple weeks go. I know most of the buyers on here pay more than that, but there is shipping to contend with, then again I do not know what the scrap yard considers high or mid grade, or if they expect it to have everything, heat sinks/cpu/ram etc, there is no telling with them.

    Is it better to send stuff like this to a toll/home refiner vs sending to a board buyer? I know boards pretty much have a set rate that varies slightly, but this is kind of a one off compared to what I have seen listed for pricing, so I dont know what to do with it. I do Ebay a bit, but havent done anything like this, so I would have to research completed items, even then, Im not sure I would get a solid idea.

    I will only get the gold bucket if you promise to John Hancock it (wait that didnt sound right....)

  10. The Following User Says Thank You to DSAP for This Post:


  11. #7
    DSAP started this thread.
    SMF Badges of Honor


    Member since
    Mar 2014
    Location
    Pcola, Fl
    Posts
    16
    Thanks
    2
    Thanked 5 Times in 2 Posts
    Also, anything I get out of this stuff will help, that was a long drive to Nashville for a car that was definitely not as advertised.

  12. #8
    EcoSafe's Avatar
    SMF Badges of Honor



    Member since
    May 2011
    Posts
    3,705
    Thanks
    3,713
    Thanked 6,807 Times in 1,954 Posts
    As I stated in an earlier post I do some home refining. Sometimes these boards can be a bit**.

    Stop scratching on the board!! There is not as much gold there as most think. PM me.
    "anyone who thinks scrappin is easy money ain't doin it right!"

  13. #9
    DSAP started this thread.
    SMF Badges of Honor


    Member since
    Mar 2014
    Location
    Pcola, Fl
    Posts
    16
    Thanks
    2
    Thanked 5 Times in 2 Posts
    Quote Originally Posted by olddude View Post
    As I stated in an earlier post I do some home refining. Sometimes these boards can be a bit**.

    Stop scratching on the board!! There is not as much gold there as most think. PM me.
    The scratch was the initial cut with the razor down the backside, was expecting a mylar or some kind of bunch of plastic inside, not this! lol PM incoming

  14. #10
    DSAP started this thread.
    SMF Badges of Honor


    Member since
    Mar 2014
    Location
    Pcola, Fl
    Posts
    16
    Thanks
    2
    Thanked 5 Times in 2 Posts
    Did you get my PM olddude?


  15. Similar threads on the Scrap Metal Forum

    1. scraps for sale and are gold plated silver contacts familiar?
      By omy8781 in forum Scrap Metal Tips and Advice
      Replies: 4
      Last Post: 02-20-2013, 07:26 PM
    2. Gold in keyboard?
      By copycat in forum General Electronics Recycling
      Replies: 5
      Last Post: 05-10-2012, 08:28 AM
    3. How to tell if contacts are gold
      By johnnybeegoods in forum Scrap Metal Questions and Answers
      Replies: 8
      Last Post: 07-17-2011, 02:10 AM

Thread Information

Users Browsing this Thread

There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)

 
Browse the Most Recent Threads
On SMF In THIS CATEGORY.





OR

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •  

The Scrap Metal Forum

    The Scrap Metal Forum is the #1 scrap metal recycling community in the world. Here we talk about the scrap metal business, making money, where we connect with other scrappers, scrap yards and more.

SMF on Facebook and Twitter

Twitter Facebook